Developmental and Contextual Transitions of Children and Families: Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice. Head Start's National Research Conference (5th, Washington, DC, June 28-July 1, 2000). Summary of Conference Proceedings.

This report summarizes the conference proceedings of the fifth Head Start National Research Conference. The focus of the conference was on the relationship of environment and developmental changes. Keynote topics and speakers were: "How Can We Know Environment Really Matters?" (Michael Rutter); "Creating Developmentally Appropriate Environments" (Stephen Suomi); and "It's 2000 and Parents Are Still Saying 'No' to Friends Who Are 'Different'" (Valeria Lovelace). Other special session topics included neuroscience perspectives on brain development, the importance of studying children and families across settings, and interventions to support developmental transitions. Forty-four symposia are summarized in the areas of: (1) Head Start research and practice; (2) Administration of Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) research; (3) child development, education, and care; (4) consequences of welfare reform; (5) culture and context; (6) health; (7) innovative research methods; (8) language and family literacy; (9) parental influences on child development; (10) parents and social institutions; (11) research and policy; and (12) very early development. Poster sessions are also summarized on the following topics: (1) biobehavioral approaches to development; (2) child and family strengths and resiliency; (3) children with disabilities; (4) cultural continuities and discontinuities; (5) early intervention and child care programs and practices; (6) evaluation methods; (7) family involvement in children's education; (8) family literacy; (9) family structure and functioning; (10) health and nutrition; (11) home/school continuities and discontinuities; (12) home visiting; (13) infants and toddlers; (14) information technology; (15) instrument development and validation; (16) language and emergent literacy; (17) long-term effects of early intervention; (18) maternal mental health; (19) parenting/parent attitudes; (20) promoting mental health; (21) quality of early care and education; (22) research partnerships with communities; (23) school readiness; (24) school transitions; (25) social/emotional development; (26) staff development; (27) understanding neighborhood and community influences; and (28) welfare reform and impact on children and families. Four appendices include a list of the cooperating organizations and peer reviewers, a subject index, and a directory of participants. (KB)